SenseCam is a wearable camera developed by Microsoft Research, one of the applications of which is to assist with memory recall by enabling a user to rewind through the recent events experienced by the wearer of the device. This may be particularly useful for memory-impaired individuals, or where an individual has experienced a traumatic event (e.g. an elderly person's fall resulting in injury).
The device can capture very large numbers of images and in addition to capturing images, the device also records sensor data, such as movement, light level and temperature every second. This sensor data is used to trigger the capturing of images, for example, when there is a change in light level or sudden movement. A change in light level may indicate that a user has moved from one room to another, or from inside to outside and therefore the image captured will indicate a change in location (and environment) of the wearer. The presence of a person in close proximity to the camera may be detected, for example using a PIR (passive infrared) sensor and this may trigger the capture of an image. Consequently the captured images may be used to recall the people an individual met.
The device has a wide angle or fish-eye lens so that the user does not need to worry about pointing the device in a particular direction. An accelerometer is used for image stabilisation.